Breath of Life
by anime-obsession260
Summary: It's Christmas, and you know that time of year is... ABSOLUTELY ONE HUNDRED PERCENT STUPID! Well, at least according to Li Syaoran. But, if an angel by the name of Sakura sings to him, will his opinions change? [CHRISTIAN THEMES]
1. Breath of Life

**Disclaimer: Do I look like I'm rich and am a genius? Nope. CCS strictly belongs to CLAMP.**

**THE ENTIRE STORY IS CHRISTIAN THEMED. IF THIS BOTHERS YOU, THEN PLEASE DO NOT READ. IF CHRISTIAN BELIEFS BOTHER YOU AND YOU READ THIS, DO NO FLAME ME BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

Hi! AnimeObsession260 again! This is just a sweet little fanfic I thought up (help from my pastor's sermon) and I think if you're Christian or if you will give Christianity a chance, you will really enjoy this.

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**Breath of Life**

You have got to be kidding me.

Li Syaoran, a twenty-year-old bachelor reporter stood dumbstruck as he stared at the packed elevator.

Letting out a tired, irritated sigh, he ran his hand through his messy, brown hair and picked up all his bags. After a few frustrated attempts, he managed to squeeze into the over-populated metal box that was supposed to bring him closer to home.

I can't believe that so many people haven't gone shopping yet… I mean… I just needed to pick up a few preordered presents for Mei ling…

He had already suffered through a human-squished elevator on the way up, had been followed by two extremely annoying toddlers who kept calling him mommy, had to listen to those two toddlers wail loudly, had to suffer through people looking at him and calling him a horrible father, had to convince a screaming woman that he was not kidnapping her brats, and finally had to get Mei ling's packages… only to find out that he had to walk two blocks away and back to get this slip from some merchandising company because his stupid cousin had forgotten to give him the receipt he was supposed to bring.

Christmas… It's supposed to be about happy people because of presents and a fat red guy in a suit. Yeah right. What eccentric writer made that up and fed it to some suckers who believed him?

It was hot in the tiny, crowded space and sweat was beginning to claw at his neck. An impossibly loud and horrible buzzing sound was exploding all throughout his head as people were shouting, babies were crying, and men were grumbling. He was miserable.

Unable to help himself, Syaoran groaned extremely loudly, "UGH! Whoever came up with this Christmas crap should be strung up and shot!"

The loud, obnoxious voices being yelled across the small elevator became more silent and everyone seemed a little nervous. A few murmurs seemed to break out randomly, and there even a few sounds of agreement, coupled with a few confused remarks. Just as Syaoran was beginning to feel very uneasy and out of place, a clear, calm voice echoed across the entire room so that everyone… and more importantly _he_… could hear.

"Oh. Don't worry then. We've already crucified him."

Deadly silence followed after that, and even the small whispers that had been passed around stopped.

Syaoran turned around to look at the person who had spoken… the girl standing right behind him.

She had a small frown on her face, but nonetheless relaxed and cool. The first thing he saw was her short auburn hair, which looked both cute and stylish but so simple that it couldn't have been cut at an expensive salon. What caught _his_ eye, however, was not her hair but her stunning eyes. A pair of vivid, clear emerald eyes stared back at him.

The young reporter knew he was staring, but he could hardly help himself. The girl seemed so completely out of place… like she didn't belong in the picture of a packed elevator. Out of the other fifteen people who had squished and stuck into that small, sweaty space, only she looked remotely patient. Everyone else bore looks of completely irritation.

Over her pale, green shirt was a soft jean jacket, and her pants were faded blue jeans. There was a light trace of pink lip gloss on her lips, but the rest of her light skin was bare of makeup. She had a pink scarf wrapped around her neck and pink gloves covered her slender fingers. On her head were pink earmuffs and a pink, fluffy hat.

Her attire suited her immensely, and for some reason, he felt that he could see a bit of her personality in the way she dressed. Everything she had on was rather faded and slightly worn, though couldn't be considered old. To him, she looked better in that simple outfit than Mei ling did when she wore her most expensive dress.

This girl was shorter than Syaoran by about three to five inches yet he felt a bit small compared to her… the calm and composed expression on her face made his own frustrated grimace (which by this time had softened into a small downward curve of the lips) feel very, very ugly in comparison.

"W-What?" he asked. She had said something and he had missed it. With an exasperated sigh, she motioned towards the door, "We're at the ground floor, and can you move, please? Everyone needs to leave now."

Syaoran complied without a thought, not wanting to get trampled underfoot by a pack of men and women desperate to get out of a compressed elevator.

Without another word, her auburn hair brushed past him and he stared at her for a while as she was leaving, and his breath hitched in his throat as he caught her casting a casual glance back at him.

Back in the elevator… she had said something about someone being crucified… where had he heard that term used before…

"Oh shoot!" Syaoran spun around and began banging on the closed, metal door, realizing that he had not taken Mei ling's packages with him.

"YEAH! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO!"

Syaoran slammed the door to his Chinese cousin's house as he walked away angrily and got into his car. Roaring his engine to life, the impatient young man honked his horn at a bypassing car before pulling out onto the street and racing away.

Who the hell does she think she is? I shouldn't have agreed to get her stupid presents at all! First she orders me to get her stuff, and then yells at me because one of the stupid books or whatever was "bent." Seriously! It was just the corner, and I swear magnifying lenses are needed to see it!

He moaned as bird from overhead pooped onto the front of his car. Sharply pulling his black, executive Mercedes over into a nearby coffee shop, he gruffly got up and out, rubbing the small stain on the hood of the engine.

Though he may be a top-class newspaper reporter, and very well paid, a Mercedes _is_ still expensive and he had to take good care of it. Come to think of it… _there_ was another big chance for him to score big with his writing again - an article about the holidays every year… maybe he'd write about the incredibly idiotic Christmas everyone went through… and sympathize with their pains while bringing out a way for people to _really_ enjoy the break like… going to bars for instance.

Working diligently, his amber eyes missed the car that was driving down the street a little too near him, and ended up being splashed by melted snow. To put it simply, Li Syaoran, _the_ most celebrated young reporter of the decade, was standing out in the snow looking both pathetic and soaking wet.

What more, the icy wind was beginning to pick up once again, and his entire body began shaking with the cold. Syaoran looked himself over, trying to see how bad the condition his clothes were in was.

"Could this get any worse?" he groaned and rubbed his arms, hoping to get as much friction as he could to stay warm. "I just _had_ to leave my coat at home." Realizing that his attempts at getting warm while standing out in the cold were futile, he looked around, trying to find a place…

Since there was no where else to go for the time being, he got back into the car, in an attempt to get out of the freezing air. Bad idea.

Squish. Now he needed a new cover for the driver's seat… his was made of cloth. It was covered in muddy water. So much for trying to keep his new Mercedes clean. Let's see… what else could possibly make him _more_ miserable?

Syaoran moaned and hit his head hard on the steering wheel of the car. Bad idea.

Not only did he now have an awful headache, but the emergency air bag had sprung up, pushing him forcefully backwards against the seat.

Li Syaoran had had enough.

In one swift motion, he pushed the airbag back into the wheel and shut the top of it. Kicking his door open, he got out and stood there, cursing about stupid holidays.

What the hell is Christmas about anyway? I _still_ think whoever came up with this should be strung up and shot. Why do we… ok…. I think I could go for some coffee right about now… and maybe dry myself off in the restroom.

Why in the world had he been to blind to see that wonderful, warm-looking building?

Trudging through the snow to the coffee shop, he waved one the waitresses over and told them to get a table and a coffee ready for him while he cleaned himself up.

The bathroom was small, but there were lots of tissue papers and those electric dryers that people were starting to use more and more.

Well, those tissue papers are from trees right? Might as well use those blow dryers stuck to the wall… for the sake of our forests. Che. Yup. Aren't I such a nice guy? A regular 'protect the trees' Samaritan. Even getting into the Christmas spirit. _Give me a break._

With a snort, Syaoran managed to get himself dry enough to the point that he didn't appear as if he had been taking a dip in the pool while still in his clothes, and walked over to a table near the window just like the waitress had directed.

He sat down and quietly began silently sipping at his coffee, looking out at the window.

Oh great. Now it's snowing. I wonder if the manager will let me stay here even after I finish this… pretty tasty coffee… I think I'll order another one…

"Ladies and gentleman," a homely voice rang out, causing Syaoran to turn and stare at a stage in the middle of the room. Lights everywhere but in the center of the stage were dimming to create an illuminating effect on a grand piano. "Here are our girls again, and this time, with a song they wrote on their own!"

Apparently everyone who came to the coffee shop was quite a regular, so they were familiar with whoever was performing.

Probably the owner's daughters. And to think I was beginning to feel that this place was decent… I wonder how good Daddy's little girls are… hopefully not so bad as to irritate me… I'm in the middle of sipping this extremely delicious beverage.

Syaoran let out a semi displeased sigh, causing many people to turn and glare in his direction. But before he could start yelling at them to mind their own business, some very beautiful piano music cut him off. By the time he had realized exactly how enthralled he had become in it, the other customers were already smiling and staring at the two girls sitting on the piano.

Frowning slightly at how he had been wrong about 'Daddy's little girls,' he turned and observed the musicians and… composers? That sounded right. What had the owner said again…? Syaoran forced himself to ignore his thoughts and look again at the two sharing a single, black piano chair.

Wait… that's.

The auburn haired girl playing the piano shut her eyes and sang softly while her amethyst-eyed partner began gently swaying in time with the music.

**Girl playing piano**:

Oh, can you see the stars tonight

Radiant in wonder

Their joyous hymns sung silently aglow

And all the world is fast asleep,

The earth is clothed in splendor

Awaiting heaven's gift amidst the snow

Hallelujah, Jesus 

_Hallelujah my Lord_

_Hallelujah, forever we'll sing of your_

Precious breath of life to our world 

-------------------

She's the girl from the elevator! Then the crucified man she was speaking about must have been…

-------------------

**Amethyst-eyed girl holding the microphone**:

Oh, can you see the baby boy

Lying in a manger

With kings and shepherds kneeling by his side

How could it be that animals

Should see the Lord of angels

Blessing them through bright eyes of a child?

Hallelujah, Jesus 

_Hallelujah my Lord_

_Hallelujah, forever we'll sing of your _

_Precious breath of life to our world_

-------------------

There was a short piano interlude, yet Syaoran sat completely captivated by the emerald-eyed girl and her voice. The music seemed to tug at his heart and he yearned to have what the two of them seemed to have. It must… the music must have been getting to him. He always _was _a softie when it came to music.

-------------------

**Both**:

Fall to your knees and worship him

All people, every nation

The Lord of all, born in this manger throne

Oh, blessed are you, Bethlehem

The birthplace of a Savior,

The Son of God who's come to save your souls

**Mysterious girl from elevator**-------------------------**Amethyst-eyed girl**

Hallelujah, Jesus-------------------------------------------Hallelujah

Hallelujah my Lord----------------------------------------Praise the name of the Lord

Hallelujah, forever we'll sing of your-------------------Precious breath of life

Precious breath of life to our world…-------------------To our world…

-------------------

Who is this girl? What does she have…? So much… so much… of what? A good voice…? No, that's not it…

-------------------

**Mysterious girl from elevator-------------------------Amethyst-eyed girl**

Hallelujah, Jesus-------------------------------------------Hallelujah

Hallelujah my Lord----------------------------------------Praise the name of the Lord

Hallelujah, forever we'll sing of your-------------------Precious breath of life

Precious breath of life-------------------------------------pause

pause-------------------------------------------------------Precious breath of life

Your precious breath of life------------------------------Your precious breath of life

To our world------------------------------------------------To our world

As their voices began to drift off into gentle wonder, Syaoran sat there, staring at the two of them… the emerald-eyed angel playing the piano to be exact. The music of angels had just been sung to him… and he hadn't even realized it.

So the crucified man was… this Jesus I hear about. It's been so long since I've heard about this Jesus… I mean, he was just some really smart teacher… right? Besides, I know that he's actually a historical person but…

After hearing the glorious praise to the Lord, he was captivated by the girl from before. He had to meet her… he just had to.

Waiting for the lights to dim again before the two girls bowed and exited, Syaoran quickly stood and made his way to the mysterious woman with an angelic voice. Luckily for him, everyone was still sitting at their seats so he didn't have to push past anyone to get to his destination.

"H-Hold on! Excuse me," he managed to grasp her wrist, causing her to turn around and look into his amber eyes, surprised.

"Can I help you…?" her small, pink lips moved and words flowed forth from her mouth, and for at least the fifth time that day, he was mesmerized and unable to look away. "Do I know you? You seem sort of familiar…"

Finding his voice again, Syaoran manage to murmur, "Actually… I was wondering if I could have a… um a… cup of coffee with you?" A sudden look of recognition dawned upon her and she looked at him, as if pressing him for a certain answer, "You're the one from the elevator before, aren't you?"

Oh shoot. Maybe she's mad at me… think fast Syaoran… what would she like to hear? What would she like to hear?

"Erm… you said something about Jesus earlier… and I just heard you sing your wonderful song… um… I was just wondering if I could… talk to you a little…?" Oh. Great. Now he sounded like a stupid, love struck high school boy who couldn't ask his little crush out.

"Sakura?" Sakura. What a nice name. "Sakura? Are you coming?" It was the girl who had also been singing earlier. "Oh, who is this?"

"Oh, I'm just-" "He's just a friend… um… Tomoyo, why don't you go on ahead, I'll catch up later I have some… things to discuss with him." Sakura pulled him away quickly, flashing her friend a reassuring smile.

Looking rather bemused, Tomoyo merely nodded and linked arms with her attractive, sapphire-eyed boyfriend next to her and left.

Pulled back to face Sakura again, Syaoran was surprised when he noticed how strong her grip on his wrist was, "Ok, what do you want? Don't tell me you want to compliment on my singing… I get that too many times a day already."

Wow. Isn't she in a lovely mood?

"I was just wondering if you'd like to share a cup of coffee with me…" I need to talk to you … or at least spend a little time with you… I don't know why… but please.

Her expression softened slightly and she gave him a hesitant smile, "I don't drink coffee… but I guess I could drink some cocoa with you… it couldn't hurt… you wanted to ask about Jesus?"

"Great!" He hadn't meant to sound so enthusiastic, but he smiled when she had to stifle a giggle. "Well… I already have a table so…"

"Charlotte, can you grab me a cocoa… with some whipped cream?" she called over to one of the waitresses nonchalantly, as if she did it everyday. Noticing his strange look she turned back to him, "Let's go and sit down… sorry I'm being rude. My name is Kinomoto Sakura. My father's friend owns this shop and I come over a lot, so I'm familiar with everyone who works here."

They sat down, and Syaoran realized that he hadn't introduced himself yet, "No. You weren't being rude at all, I'm-"

"Li Syaoran, right?" Sakura gave a knowing look when he seemed confused. "You're an award winning reporter now for the Tomoeda Tribune. I saw your picture in the newspaper. Congratulations."

Scratching the back of his head, Syaoran was grateful as his second order of coffee came so that he could soothe his parched throat, "It was nothing really… the article I did was actually a pretty simple one to crack. Audiences love stories where they have say in what happens. Did you hear? I closed down some weird cult or sorority or something at a university. Everyone thinks that it's better off without it."

At this, Sakura seemed to draw back and be hurt in a sense, and on instinct, Syaoran reached forward and took her hand. After grasping what he had just done, he immediately pulled away as a blush stained her cheeks.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I suppose it's not much of a surprise."

What?

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She leaned forward and looked him straight in the eye, "I said, I'm sorry you feel that way about the intervarsity club I ran… I can assure you that it was not some strange cult that we practiced magic or something in though."

No way… she couldn't possibly have been…

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going…" she rose from the soft, blue chair to leave.

"No!"

Sakura looked at him, slightly taken aback. "I-I mean, I'm sorry, please stay. I didn't mean anything by my article… please…"

He knew that he was begging, but he didn't care. There was just _something_ he needed to ask her about. Syaoran let out a breath of relief as she sat back down.

"I ran the intervarsity club that you closed down," her voice was clear, and there was no malice in it, but he could tell that she was not happy. "Do you even know what an intervarsity club actually does?"

Syaoran looked away from her, a bit abashed, as, though he had done _some_ research on it, he had not _really_ understood anything… in all actuality, he had been surprised when his heartless article had won first prize. He knew he was a great writer who could win thousands by his fiery opinions and baring words, and that was most likely why he won.

Acknowledging his shake of head, she continued, "We help all the students on campus, who are willing, to help straighten their lives out with the belief of Christ. It is a good thing, I think, and we help many, many students find their way while they're in college… because it's such a transitional time for them."

"Oh…" He had not known that… exactly what had he researched for his articles? He had asked some of the science teachers and they had all told him about the same thing… that it was some weird club that taught non-factual evidence about life's origins and how it deceived all its member yet… why hadn't he bothered to speak to one of the intervarsity leaders?

He had sat through one of their 'lessons', but he had not understood a word of it. Not. One. Word.

"I was," Syaoran turned to look at her again as she spoke. "Quite disturbed with what you wrote in your… article. Many of the things you said there were biased… and many of the comments, untrue."

"I…"

"It's alright." Sakura sat up straight and leaned her chin on her hand, staring out the window. "Many of my friends say it's for the best… though I don't agree. They say I can finally get a job that pays… but… what can be more profitable than saving the lost souls of my brothers ands sisters in this world? That's the work that the Lord has pressed upon my heart."

Brothers and sisters? Work from God? Oh, don't give me that crap, I've heard from the pastor on Sundays enough… I've listened to it for years. Please, I don't need to be "Christian" robot who hugs his bible wherever he goes and butts into people's lives wit hypocritical audacity.

"You don't say… I really don't understand how brainwashing those poor college kids helps. I mean, hasn't Christianity already been proven false? Honestly, that Darwin guy who came up with evolution was way smarter than whoever came up with the bible. His discoveries puts the bible to shame," Syaoran immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. He had **not** meant to say that out loud.

Her eyes were cold and now, angry as she turned to glare at him while still talking to the waitress, "Thank you Charlotte… but I think I'll be drinking by cocoa elsewhere. Good day to you, Li-san. Oh, and by the way, there's no evidence for evolution. It's merely an _idea _concocted by the minds of men. No proof whatsoever."

Sakura thanked and took the coffee from the waitress and stood to leave.

"Wait! Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way… my mouth just seems to run off sometimes without my brain telling it to…"

Oh please. Oh please don't go… I need to know why I'm so interested in you… why am I so desperate? Since when have I become so… wimpy?

**Sakura's POV**

What an… idiot. Does he normally randomly pick girls up like this? Gosh. His flirting skills need a **big** improvement… and what he said… I don't even want to think about it… I might just punch him, and though the idea sounds extremely appealing…

"I'm sorry, I have someplace else to go and other appointments to keep, excuse me," Sakura began to walk away, but nearly spilled her drink as Syaoran frantically pulled her back. She gave him a long look before finally asking, "What is it that you want from me?"

You better answer wisely, for those words may be your last… you almost spilled my cocoa!

He fumbled wit his words, and for the first time, Sakura noticed exactly how… cute he was. His tousled brown hair, piercing amber eyes, the handsome curve of his mouth, "I… I don't know…"

"Huh?"

"I'm not sure why I… would you like to get a bite to eat with me… sometime?" He sounded so hopeless and confused that she couldn't say no to him. Curse her weak conviction when it came to those in… need. Well, he looked like he was in need anyway… just of _what_ she wasn't sure.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura looked at her watch and sighed, "I'm not really free to go to any restaurant or anything… you see… I'm helping at this place where we send presents to kids in far places all over the world… they've never received a gift before for anything. Most of them don't really play… they've been through wars and abuse."

Well? Willing to come and do a little goodwill work? Up for a _non_-profitable project?

Syaoran seemed a bit pissed when she mentioned presents, so Sakura took the answer as a no, "Oh, ok then. If you don't want to come, then I've got to get going…"

"No! No, I'll come," Sakura resisted the urge to giggle as he stood shakily. It seemed like he was determined to speak with her about… something, no matter how awful his experience with presents had been.

"Hm? Ok, then. Suit yourself, come on," she took his hand and gulped down her drink, leading him out the door. "We'll take my car… yours can stay here, I'll drive you back when we're done."

Unbeknownst to Syaoran, Sakura sent him a few uneasy glances as they got buckled up in her small, white Acura. She had no idea why she was being so tolerant of him… well she was tolerant of people like him most of the time, though they annoyed her to no end… but she was having a hard time believing that she just invited the man who closed down her Intervarsity work to spend the day with her… and she didn't even know what he wanted!

**Syaoran's POV**

I don't get why she still lets me tag along… if I was her, I would have kicked me out of the coffee shop long ago… I mean, I stopped her source of income right?

"Um… I'm not sure if it's ok for me to ask…" he looked at the girl sitting next to him. "Was that… intervarsity club the only way you made money?"

She looked at him shocked for a moment, before flipping her head around to look at the road, jerking the steering wheel to the right to avoid collision with another car. In one fluid motion, she turned onto a vacant parking lot in front of some old shop and parked her car in one of the slots.

"You shut my… program down without even knowing what it is?" Sakura was furious and looked it too. "Who do you think you are? People are always calling Christians hypocrites and… and arrogant but this is…"

"I'm sorry! I just needed an award-winning article, and… your club had been disliked by many of the teachers and families so I thought it would be good if I-"

"Would be good if you what? Parents are upset because they think that a Christian fellowship on campus is intolerant of other religions. Newsflash! They don't seem to mind the cults and other 'religious' groups on campus, they just target mine because Christianity seems to poke at them the most."

Thinking that she had finished, Syaoran opened his mouth to defend himself, but she continued, "As for the teachers, they think that Christianity is baloney because of its 'lack of evidence.' Well let me tell you something, I've done quite a bit of research on your precious evolution theory has absolutely **no** evidence founding it! Christianity has finding of archeology, fulfilled prophecies, widespread beliefs, miracles, and Jesus on its side. What does evolution have? A few fossils that don't even actually tell us anything about humans forming from monkeys. So we have similar bone structure, well so do cats and dogs, but they're aren't all that alike, are they?"

As if realizing that she had been yelling, Sakura suddenly quieted down and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm not normally this… fired up. I've had a bad day and… sorry."

Syaoran couldn't understand why she was apologizing, though he was **very** surprised when he realized that it was true, Darwin's theory _had_ nothing to support it… it was just a _theory…_

"It's ok. It's not your fault… I shouldn't have been so ignorant as to close down your program at the college without first really understanding what it was… I'm not sure _why_ I even got that award now."

"Because you're a great writer and no."

"No?"

Sakura managed a smiled and answered, "To your question. No. Intervarsity doesn't pay at all. It's completely volunteer work from its leaders. I get my money from God. He gives me funds to run my work with donations from others."

Oh great. Now I really feel bad. Not only did I close down a student-supporting, non-profit organization… but I probably ruined her life too. She seems so upset.

"We're here," she unlocked the door and got out.

Syaoran blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"Eh?"

"I _said_, we're here," she giggled at his confused face and them pointed her thumb at the small shop. "This is not really a shop, but a homeless shelter. Volunteer workers come to help them, and to wrap presents during Christmas for the people in need who come here, and we also ship presents off to those in need in rural areas around the world."

"Oh," Syaoran sighed, not really wanting to charity work. It's not like he ever got something back out of it. What was the point? He was only doing this so he could stay next to this Kinomoto Sakura girl, though he wasn't sure why he wanted to know more about her so badly.

Normally, he would already have been able to put her in a singular, classified category: A bible-hugging, crucifix-wearing, honk-if-you-love-God, Jesus-freak. But… for some reason… there was more to her than that… or may be he just hadn't taken enough time to actually speak with those so-called Jesus-freaks. She made him think being a religious person that was obsessed with God wasn't really _obsessed_ in the sense that Christians roamed about streets preaching the gospel and condemning others like they were someone special.

"You know, I don't really understand why you decided to come with me… no offense, but you seem more like a business man than someone who works for other people," her voice shook him from his thoughts.

He gave her an odd look as they strolled over to the 'shop', "What do you mean? Isn't it better to order people around? I mean, it makes people listen to you if you're higher up, and working for other people is just like… being their servant almost."

Sakura gave him another long look before saying, "The Lord calls us to serve others. To serve our brothers and sisters. Besides… everything we have right now… isn't really ours. We're just caretakers, and God owns everything, including our lives. We really don't deserve his grace… being the sinners that we are."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "It's one thing to be a saint, it's one thing to be perfect, and it's one thing to be a hypocrite. Those glossy-eyed, I-have-a-perfect-life-because-I'm-a-Christian people who stand on the corner of the streets preaching loudly for everyone to hear… I doubt they really understand what's going on. I'd hate to see what would happen to them once something bad _did_ happen to them."

"What do you mean?" this was new to him. He had always perceived Christians as being obsessed with God… and she just said that those people didn't know what was going on.

"Um… let's see…" she grabbed a key from her pocket and opened the door, switching the lights on. "I'm obsessed with Christ. I really am. He is my everything, and my most important… he's just most important. More important than my family, my friends… more important than all the world. But…"

Ok. Scratch the not-obsessed idea, "But…?"

Sakura sighed and began rearranging the tables and chares, beckoning Syaoran to follow suit, "The people that walk around, yelling out they're Christians and because of that have no pain in their life… they're just lying to themselves I guess. God has already specifically told us that Christians are going to be persecuted and that there _is_ hurting in the world."

"Don't Christians believe that they are better than everyone else and that since they're 'sons and daughters' of God so they are excused from sin and have wonderful, flawless lives?" Syaoran was still in the dark about what she was trying to get at. How was it that she was beginning to change his entire view about those Jesus-freaks he had so easily labeled long ago?

"You know, for an atheist, you sure are interested in Christian beliefs. Maybe there's hope for you yet," she smiled at him, teasingly, but for some reason, he felt happy. No one had every told him that there was hope for him. He had been cast out of his family a few years ago for wanting to marry Mei ling. They lived together now, but still, they weren't in love anymore.

His family had immediately just given up on him and became disgusted; she _was_ his cousin after all, and he couldn't exactly blame him. But here, a complete stranger was telling him that everything would be ok… because he could change? That sounded a bit… well… idealistic to him.

"That's a common misconception," Sakura grinned and began getting large boxes off of shelves. "Christians aren't supposed to lead lives without pain and suffering… our entire life is supposed to be _about_ pain and suffering. As a natural reaction, because Christianity preaches living holy lives so people can't get drunk or do… I don't know, bad things that people normally do everyday, people persecute Christianity to no end. But it is a good thing… a honor to suffer for the Lord's sake because…"

She turned to look at him and gave him a brilliant smile, "Jesus suffered the cross… the most agonizing form of death and torture ever created by man. It is a privilege to suffer with him, because our works will not go unnoticed. We help the poor, the sickly, and the helpless, because in truth, even helping the least of them is serving the Lord. God created us all, and a Christian's job is to help save others because we've already been saved through our acceptance of Jesus Christ."

Detecting that she had made Syaoran extremely uneasy, Sakura stopped her rambling lesson and shrugged, "But that's too much for you to understand, I guess. Come on, give me a hand with these packages and this wrapping paper. We can get started before the others arrive."

It was silent in the small workshop, with only a handful of people, including Sakura and Syaoran, diligently wrapping the presents.

"Do," he found that he had to whisper or else everyone would hear what he was saying. "Only these people come every year?"

"Actually… every year, less and less people come," there was a sad note to Sakura's voice, and it pulled at Syaoran's heart, though he didn't know why… he didn't know why he was still there either. It had been at least an hour, and he had already helped wrapped at least a hundred presents.

Ignoring his sore shoulders, he concentrated on working as fast and as nimbly as Sakura who had wrapped a dozen times more gifts than he had, "Why?"

Sakura sighed and looked at her watch, calling out to everyone in there, "Times up everyone! Eiji should be around any minute now, we should probably get all the gifts together so they can be shipped off. Good job! We wrapped a **lot** of presents this year! This'll brighten the lives of children everywhere!"

Syaoran nearly yelled in surprise as everyone gave a loud cheer and began signing, clapping and dancing. Even _he_ was pulled into their silly singing as people began to notice how silent he was as everyone else was happily singing, "Joy to the World."

They've worked all day, and still have energy to sing their hearts out. I've got to hand it to them; they seem to have an unending source of energy flowing into them… and an unending source of joy too.

He felt a light tug on his arm and Syaoran looked behind him, catching the smiling eyes of Sakura. She took his hand and led him out of the shop, "They can handle the rest. Eiji will be here to pick up the gifts soon, and I need to get you back to the coffee shop… thanks for helping out today."

She grinned at him and hopped into her car, which had a thin sheet of snow over it.

The two of them had driven the entire distance in complete, utter silence. Neither had said a word because… to be honest, neither of them knew what to say.

Sakura had been lecturing him about Christ, and now was at a loss for what to talk about without sounding completely out of place.

"Well… here we are… I promised Tomoyo I'd be home by eight so I better leave now," she reached for to flick the LOCK switch to UNLOCK, letting Syaoran out of the car.

He gave her a somewhat remorseful glance before getting out of the car.

I don't want to go… I don't really buy into all this 'Jesus' stuff but at least I want to see more of her… she's probably the most interesting person I've ever met… coffee shop and all.

"Um… did you want to… get that bite to eat sometime?" Syaoran lowered his head back into the car and looked questioningly at her. And, as if someone was pushing her towards his offer, Sakura let a small smile grace her lips before she nodded and reached into her purse to grab a slip of paper, "Hm… ok. But you have to call me."

Within a few seconds she had jotted down a phone number and patiently waited as he closed the door. Sakura gave him a wink and drove away.

Standing there in the cold again, Syaoran looked over to his car, and to his amazement, someone had come by and swept all the snow off his Mercedes. Grinning at his sudden luck, he got into his own car and sped off into the night, right hand clutching a small slip of paper in his pocket.

"Hm… maybe Christmas isn't quite so bad anymore."

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**To be Continued**

So… what do you think? I know it's a little late for Christmas XP but I thought it might still be ok if I posted it. Hm… maybe I should take it off and post it next year. I can make a second chapter if you like, but that's only if enough people seemed interested enough in it.

Well, happy extremely late holidays Please review!!!


	2. The Meaning of Christmas

**Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. **

Hey everyone! I guess it's that time of year again… actually, I'm just a little late, aren't I? Hehe… Anyway, lateness and laziness aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's based upon many, many personal…. Things. So I hope you take the time to think, what if you were in this person's shoes?

The song sung in this chapter is called "All Through The Night" by Christina Ho. She's an awesome singer, really. You should get CD. -

**Breath of Life**

**Chapter two**

A man trudged through the snow quietly, his Mercedes parked behind him, towards the small coffee shop he had become quite accustomed to going to every week. No matter how many times he had told himself not to, how many times he had tried to forget about a pair of compelling emerald eyes and the warmth of a beautiful voice, he had gone fairly consistently.

Never had he met so strange a people. So warm and inviting… so much like a _family_. Not just like any ordinary group of kind people either, those who were regulars there always showed such _love_ for one another and everyone else in that coffee shop. There was such peace and contentment in that place, that he could not help but feel as if it was exactly what a church _should_ be like.

As a boy, Li Syaoran had gone to church once or twice… just to see what there was to offer there. Buddhism didn't really work for him, nor did the Muslim religion, but out of these, the most annoying one had had to be Christianity. It told him that everything he did… most of the things he _wanted_ to do were wrong. In China where he was originally from, he came from a prestigious family and had been given everything he could ever want. Christianity wanted him to leave those things behind… as if he could live without them?

But even still…

It wasn't as if they were strict. They had the most awesome parties. Clean, but awesome. These people knew how to dance, how to sing, and could find the most intriguing little party games to play. And, of course, there was the basketball they played. He couldn't count how many times he had used basketball as a scapegoat when asked why he kept going to "That dingy little store" his cousin had called it. _She_ had gone once, hated it, and never set foot near that place ever again. Near the shop was a basketball court, and when it wasn't raining or snowing, it was crowded with young guys who were **good** at the game.

He seated himself in the comfortable cushions of the same table in the corner he sat at every night and ordered the same mocha cappuccino he ordered every week. The waitress didn't even bother to ask anymore, he'd just shout "same" to her and she'd nod and get it for him.

She placed it in front of him with a small, "Syao-kun, where were you last week? We missed you." He smiled back at her. Somehow, he had earned himself a new nickname by many of the girls and older men in the coffee shop. When Mei Ling had tried to call him that it almost felt as if it were an insult, but coming from these people, it was so affectionate he didn't really mind at all. "I had some business to take care of back in Hong Kong."

"Always about business aren't you, Li!" Eriol slid into the seat next to him and laughed. "You should loosen up and actually go back to _visit_ your family once in a while."

Seeing him tense up at the word _family_, the waitress immediately whacked him on the head with the menus in her hand, "Hiirizigawa Eriol! I heard _you_ were the one who broke our sign in front by _standing_ on it to see a pretty girl walk by! You're lucky Kinomoto-san is such a kind man!"

"Hehe… guilty as charged," Eriol laughed and the two of them quickly sank into a conversation Syaoran didn't mind being left out of.

Family. For the past twenty some years of his life, that very word sent chills down his spine. Yeah, he came from a **rich** family. Yeah, they gave him everything he wanted and let him _do_ whatever he wanted. But that place… was **not** a family. His sisters were too busy squandering money on cosmetics and their many boyfriends, and he was always taking care of "business matters". Mei Ling really was the closest thing he had to _family_, but even she could get annoying.

"Eh? The lights are dimming kind of early…" Eriol mumbled as he scanned the shop to see if anything was wrong. "Are we having some special show today?"

The waitress frowned and shook her head, "But you boys stay in these seats anyways… maybe there _is_ something going on that I didn't hear about… I doubt you'll want to miss it."

But there was no pretty singer rising onto the stage, this time it was the owner… Sakura's father. Kinomoto Fujitaka. "I'm sorry to say… that there's been… a dear friend of ours… has passed away. The doctors do not know the cause of his death… it seems as if his body simply stopped functioning…"

No…. no…. no… not again…

Syaoran shut his eyes tightly, trying to push away the memories of his mother's death. The one thing that had held their family together. He _loved_ her… so…. Why did _she_ have to be the one snatched away?

Push it away… push it away… don't think about it….

He turned as he saw a pair of headlights shine from out the window. He saw his emerald-eyed angel step out of the vehicle, saw her wrap her pink scarf he had given her as a birthday present around her neck happily, saw her mouth form a small 'o' as she hummed a silly tune.

"It is with great sadness…" Syaoran turned to stare at the man talking on stage, a sense of dread pulling at his heart. "That I tell you all, our beloved Kero… is dead. Kero has always been an important part of this group… I, myself, have known him for…"

All other words were lost on him. Kero? _Kero-chan? Sakura's Kero-chan? _The wild and crazy blond boy who stuck to Sakura like glue? The two of them were best friends… childhood friends for that matter. He was always running around having fun, but he would always take the time to sit down and to chat with her for a while. They were like brother and sister.

In front of him, Syaoran saw the color drain from Eriol's face as well. Eriol had always been like an older brother to Kero… bright, happy, slightly annoying Kero. King of video games… loved to play practical jokes… very much the life of the party… was gone?

It hadn't seemed to soak into the crowd yet, and he looked frantically out the window to see if Sakura had come in yet. She was nearing the door and he rushed out to meet her. "Sakura…hey…" he stopped her from coming in by standing in the doorway… but what was he going to do?

"Syaoran! How are you? Heard you went to Hong Kong last week." The smile on her face was genuine, and his desire to punch the wall and start cursing loudly began to grow as he began to think of how the sparkle and shine of her eyes might dim when she heard the news… how that smile might just disappear… how-

"Syaoran... you're standing in the doorway," she laughed. "I can't get in."

He might as well give her a warning before letting her inside, "Something happened." He stepped to the side slightly slowly opening up a passageway for her.

"Oh! What's happened?" Her reaction was completely wrong. She had no idea what was going on… here she was eagerly awaiting… news of the death of a person she had known since birth.

"W-Wait! Don't go in! It's not something good…" he wanted to stop her, wanted to pull her back. Wanted to keep her from this kind of pain.

His amber eyes watched her as she looked around the room, suddenly quiet. "Why is everyone…" He took her by the hand and led her over to his table. "Let's see… how should I say this…" Her eyes gazed at him intensely, as if beckoning the words out of his mouth.

"Kero… died… today."

A small bittersweet laugh came from her cherry lips, "Ha… that's not funny Syaoran." He merely shook his head, and he watched almost desperately as those very same lips began to tremble and curl up into… an indescribable look of grief. He had been right, the happiness, which always shone from her pretty, emerald eyes… dimmed until it was almost no longer there.

She looked around the room as if lost. "K-Kero-chan?" Tears began trickling down from her eyes. Sakura entire body seemed to drop down… the life in her bones seemed to crumble, and she buried her face in his chest, sobs breaking forth from her frail form loudly. "Kero-chan!"

He could feel them in his own eyes. In his own heart too. Tears. When was the last time he had cried? And yet, as he hugged the crying girl in his arms closely, pain and sorrow seemed to sear through his own body as well. What could he do? Was there any way to turn back time? He wanted so much to make everything okay again.

Sakura stirred now. She sat up, the tears still freely flowing down her cheeks, and looked at him helplessly. "He's… gone… it's so hard to imagine, Syaoran! What… how…. From now on… his seat will be empty… he won't _be there anymore_!!! For the second time that day, she collapsed into his arms, sobbing though this time, even louder than before. "Where am I going to find another Kero-chan?!"

"You're not, Sakura…" Eriol whispered. Syaoran had almost forgotten that he was there. Eriol sat across the table from the two of them, his eyes hidden by a hand so that, he was sure, the two of them could not see his own silent weeping. "You're not going to find another Kero… but you'll see him again soon."

That sounded almost foreboding. Was Eriol saying that they were going to die soon? To his surprise, Sakura sat up and nodded her head quietly, and she desperately tried to muffle her sobs to no avail.

Was she suicidal? He wanted to grab her and shake her. Wanted to scream how she didn't **dare** leave him… wanted to scream that she had to stay healthy and alive… for him.

People were going around now, finding people to pray with. Pray for Kero's only living family member, his older brother, Yue, who was currently away on a business trip in America. Pray for him. Pray for the people in the room and outside who were hurting. Everyone who felt pain in his death.

He could hear whispers around him, slight murmurs of comfort. "Kero-chan is in a better place now… he's in the arms of the Father." "Right now, the one happy is Kero, you have to remember that, honey. He's never going to hurt again. Even if the ones who are left are the ones that cry, why should be happy for him." "Come on… suck it up, sweetheart. I know it hurts… Kero would laugh at you if he saw you like this right now…" "Shh… it's okay… just cry on my shoulder…"

Was this what _family_ did when the other was hurting? He could see people who probably didn't know Kero going around and praying for people who looked as if their world had just shattered. People who looked very much like the one in his arms.

"You know…" she mumbled as she leaned against his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. "It was the silly things about Kero that you loved… how he would order ten hamburgers at McDonalds, claiming that he needed it for his athletic training… and he could never finish all of them." She laughed a little, but it wasn't the normal, angelic sound that he craved. This laugh was bittersweet. His heart seemed to squeeze… an invisible hand and grasped onto his heart and squeezed tight. One or two tears escaped his eyes and he hugged Sakura even tighter.

"How both he and Touya would get together and shout to beat up any boyfriend I may find in the future.." Syaoran gave an involuntary shudder at this, and she looked up at him inquisitively. "N-Nothing," he looked away from her gaze, and she smiled, snuggling into his arms even more, causing a blush to rise onto his face.

"Dang it… he was so annoying! Kero-chan," sobs began to break from her once again. "But I loved him! He was like my brother! I knew him from day one… from the day I was born! He came to visit me in the hospital when I was born… since Yue was Onii-chan's friend. I just… I just… can't imagine that he's…really gone."

The lights on stage opened again, just a little bit, and out stepped Tomoyo, Sakura's older sister. There was such sadness in her amethyst eyes… She brought the microphone to her lips and pressed a few keys on the piano with her slender, white fingers.

**Tomoyo:**

Oh, God, we're weak

when sorrow drains us, leaving

empty hearts and empty words

that echo under shadowed skies.

oh, God, we're tired

of trying to understand hits

spark of life that slips away

and leaves us kneeling, broken down

_and all through the night_

_when tears light our eyes,_

_would you hold us close_

_within the warmth of your great love?_

_chase away the fear_

_let us know that you are near,_

_deliver us as we lie crushed,_

_and lift us up again to praise you._

oh, Lord, we're scared

of all this silence; are you even there?

and can you hear

the desperation in our souls?

Father, you said

that you would never leave us

here alone, without hope,

so come and fill this place with mercy

all through the night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Syaoran…" Sakura bent over and cried into his shirt.

-_ring- -ring- -**RING-**_

"Damn phone…" Syaoran grumbled. Pulling his head out from under the covers, he reached for his cell phone next to his bed. "Moshi moshi?"

"_You certainly sound grumpy, Syaoran."_

He knew that voice. "Sakura! Good morning… how are you feeling? I haven't seen you for a week now… not since the funeral."

"_I have a favor to ask, actually… do you have time?"_

"I do now, since you woke me up," he leaned against his many pillows and stared over at a picture on his desk. It portrayed a certain singer tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear as she turned around, surprised that someone was taking a photo of her.

"_Hm… good. Meet me at Penguin Park, okay? You know where that is, right?"_

"Yeah, yeah…hm? Okay… see you there then… bye bye."

Syaoran stood and stretched. Lazily sliding into a green shirt and baggy, blue jean pants, he grabbed a black, leather jacket and was out the door. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that ever since meeting Sakura, he'd gotten more relaxed. He wasn't about to admit that he had been uptight before, but now everything seemed so much easier. No more high-class business suits unless he felt like wearing them… jeans were more comfortable anyway.

Life was good for Li Syaoran. He was still a highly paid writer for big-time newspapers and was still one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire city. Rich, popular, handsome… but he just couldn't get up the nerve to ask a certain Kinomoto Sakura out.

He stood in the middle of the park, in the middle of screaming toddlers, waiting for that very same lady… impatiently. Li Syaoran… did not like dealing with kids. In fact, he loathed-

"Syaoran!" his train of thought was rudely interrupted, but he was happy to see her anyway.

"Sakura! Hey… I like your scarf," he teased.

She giggled, "Hey yourself. I like this scarf too… it was the best birthday present every… from a certain, cocky reporter friend of mine." He flourished a bow and she rolled her eyes at him. "I hope your car has a large trunk space."

"Of course! Newest model… has three times the amount of trunk space a normal car has… Why?" He looked at her suspiciously. She grabbed his hand, "I'll tell you when we get to your car." "Well, I'll race you!" He shot right back, and the two of them ran to his car like children, laughing the whole way.

"You know, that race wasn't very fair," Sakura panted as she arrived at his Mercedes two seconds behind him.

"Stop being such a sore loser", he gasped for air. Who knew this quiet little girl was such a runner?

"But I didn't know where your car was! How could I race you if I had to _follow _you the whole way?"

"Whatever, get in," he opened the door for her and she slid into the passenger's seat. "Where to, mademoiselle?"

"My house," she buckled her seat belt, and leaned against the cushioned chair. Realizing that the car wasn't moving, she stared at him questioningly. "Syaoran?"

"Didn't you just come from your house? You could have just told me to go over there."

"Well I was already out for a jog, so I figured you could give me a ride home," she smiled at him. "Yes, I ran to Penguin Park."

He looked at her incredulously, "Don't tell me a ride home was the favor you were asking for." "Of course not. We need to stop by my house to pick some things up," She grinned. "We're making a delivery."

"Delivery… huh…"

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"I should have guessed it was something like this. You and your… charitable moods," Syaoran sighed as they pulled into an empty lot… Well, it would have been empty if not for the families lined up along the outside of the lot. They were all huddled together with thin sheets of blankets pulled around their shivering bodies. "How'd you find this place anyway? I didn't realize there _was_ such a place."

"To tell you the truth, I didn't know about it until recently. There was this small boy dressed in pretty much tatters in a store about a month ago. He was staring at a pair of shoes and he told me that he wanted to buy them for his mother who's very sick. That boy… he wanted to buy them for her for Christmas, but I could just see that there was no way he could save up enough pennies in time… That's all he had, you know… pennies," a soft sigh escaped her lips. "You know what else he said? He said that he wanted his mommy to look pretty if she went up to see Jesus soon… isn't that sad? _He_ lives here… he told me about this place."

He looked at her, "So much charity… you can never save the world, you know. Besides… places like this are a rarity… people will find them and help these families out. You don't have to be the one to do it."

"It's because we live in such a bubble-like city that you can say that. People who live in this rich neighborhood are so sheltered, you don't realize that there are people out there who are in real need… and what's wrong with charity, anyway?" She gave him a sour look and got out of the car to open the trunk.

"Sakura… don't be mad…" He helped her unload the heavy hand-made quilts and blankets out of the car. "It's just… don't you ever get _tired_ of doing goodwill? I mean, you did something last Christmas too. If you have so much money to spend on blankets and stuff… why don't you pamper yourself once in a while. I know you rarely buy yourself anything."

"_I _don't have enough money to do all this. The coffee shop did a fundraiser, and some little old ladies even got together to make some of these blankets and stuff," She stopped working and looked up at him, her emerald orbs seeming to see right through him, "You're just dying to say something, aren't you? Go ahead. Say it."

It was scary how she could just read his mind…

"I don't understand you!" Syaoran blurted out. "Why aren't you bitter towards your God?"

She simply watched him as he began yelling what he had been thinking about for the past week. "How can you do all this for others? Why aren't you mad at this Jesus you keep talking about? _His_ present to you for Christmas was killing Kero! **He's** the one with the power over life and death, isn't he? So why aren't you bitter? Why doesn't he bring Kero back from the dead like he did his own son! Isn't that kind of selfish? You're such a good person! He should do it for you too! No sweat off _his_ back, right?! How can you claim to love a God like that? Actually, forget that! How can you call him a _loving_ God if he's willing to make so many people suffer?"

She gave him a moment to catch his breath before taking his hand. "Come with me," she said. Picking up one of the blankets and a small, toy fire truck, she led him over to the first family in the long line around the abandoned plot of land. He didn't say anything.

Was she offended? Did she feel like screaming at him? Or maybe… could it be… she thought he was right?

"Hey… what's your name, little boy?" Sakura smiled at the shivering family. There were three of them. A mother, a father, and a little toddler boy. All three of them stared at her. Someone dressed so cleanly… one of the rich people… she was talking to _them_? The parents looked at her apprehensively, but the child bit his lip and spoke, "Sh-Shinta…"

"Shinta? Well," she looked at the child for a minute before pulling him into a hug. "Shinta, did you know that somebody up there loves you?" She pointed up at the sky. The little boy looked up, his eyes wide. "His name is Jesus, and he _died_ to save your life. Because he loved you so much, and because he died for _me_ too, Merry Christmas." She handed him the toy truck.

Syaoran watched wordlessly, something tugging at his heart as the small boy's eyes grew even rounder, and his tiny hands latched onto the tiny toy. Immediately, he began laughing and smiling, his little brown eyes sparkling happily, like eyes little children _should_ have.

"Vroom vroom!" He was lost in his own little world, and Sakura turned to the two parents who were staring at her in both amazement and thankfulness.

"Thank you very much…" the mother whispered. "For making my baby so happy."

Sakura smiled back at the woman, "I didn't do anything really… here. This is for you two… Merry Christmas." She handed them the warm quilt, and their eyes began to resemble their son's… just a little. Sakura didn't wait for their thank you's and such, she began walking back to the car to get the next set of blankets and toys.

"I do charity for others… I don't like that word… charity…" Sakura turned to Syaoran. "I do it because I love these people. Each and every last one of them. Think about that. Think about someone you love. If that person was in trouble, wouldn't you try to help them?"

When he didn't say anything, she just smiled. "But they're just strangers, right? How could I possibly love them? We love because God first loved us. You said a little while ago, that God's Christmas present to me was to kill Kero?"

Syaoran looked away, wanting desperately to take those words back.

"That's not such a bad present, you know."

His look of surprise was obvious, "What? You're saying that Kero's death was a _good_ thing?"

"No… I'm saying it's not as bad as you think though… Kero is in heaven. In a place were there are no tears, there is no pain. _He_ is happy. The ones who are sad… are us. Don't be so selfish, Syaoran. The best thing God could have done for Kero would be to take him home to a world rid of sorrow. Right?" She looked down. "Don't get me wrong… every time I hear his name… I'm still sad. I doubt I'll ever fully get over it… but I can bear it easier now."

"Being a Christian does not mean that your life will be perfect. In fact, Jesus has said that, if you're a Christian the world will hate you… it'll persecute you. There _will be bumps in the road_. To go to heaven is to be relieved of all that. It's those glossy-eyed, happy-go-lucky, the world is perfect Christians that have to watch out. Something horrible is going to happen, and then they'll get the wake up call of the century," she smiled at him. "I could never be mad at God for taking Kero away. He was the one who gave Kero to me in the first place. If he gave life, why do you think it is wrong for him to take it back?"

"Um…" Syaoran grabbed a couple of blankets and the two of them set off to the second family.

"I read this analogy in a book once… The Case For Faith by Lee Strobel.. You asked me how God could make people suffer if he is supposed be a loving God?" Syaoran paused to stare at her. He was surprised she had an answer to that question… he had asked thousands of people… and they had not known. "I think this analogy is a very good one."

"In the woods, a bear steps into a bear trap… one of those kind that bite, you know? And he is in pain… he's hurting so badly. A hunter comes along and takes pity on this bear, so he decides to help it out. However, in order to get close to the bear, he must first shoot it with tranquilizer darts. Well, to the bear, it seems as if the hunter is attacking him, doesn't it? Then, the hunter must actually push the bear's foot farther into the trap in order to easy the spring tension enough to pull the bear's leg out. Well, to the bear who is already half delirious what does it seem like? Is the hunter hurting him or helping him?"

She smiled at him, "Of course to the bear, it seems as if the hunter is hurting him. We, humans, are the bear. How can such finite people judge what an infinite God is doing? We don't see the big picture. How can _we_ judge whether or not God is doing something right or wrong?"

"How is it…" Syaoran asked. "Every time I speak with you, I am so amazed?"

Sakura blushed at this and merely nudged him towards the family, "Hey… you try… go on… give the kid the shoes first though. He wants to give them to his mom, remember? Tell him I asked a doctor to come take a look at his mother later."

"Oh…"

She watched as he awkwardly handed the family their presents and left. When he walked by her, she began to giggle. "Shut up," he grumbled and tickled her sides mercilessly. "Or you'll regret it."

"Ha! Hahaha! Hahaahahaha… Syaoran stop! Can't… ha… breathe…we still… haha… have to deliver all this to all those families!"

"Fine," he stopped and smiled at her. "I carry the blankets, you do the talking."

"Deal," she giggled, and they set off to work. Sakura talked about Jesus to the families, Syaoran wordlessly handed them the toys.

"Hey… Sakura…" Syaoran asked suddenly. She turned to look at him, "Yes?"

He scratched the back of his head, "What does Christmas mean to you?"

"What does Christmas mean? Let's see… For me, Christmas is the day my Savior was born. The day hope was born into the world. Which is why, every Christmas, I want to share that hope with as many people as possible," she gazed at him for a moment. "Why?"

"No reason…" he walked over to last the last family and quickly began handing out toys and blankets. Not waiting for Sakura to come over and start talking, he poked the little child on the nose gently and said.

"Hey kid… Jesus loves you."

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**To Be Continued…**

Hehe. Merry Christmas everybody! Sorry for making it so late. I hope this chapter was worth your time… it was just a _little_ last minute.. hehe…. Please review!

God Bless!


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